


Tradition

by BrownieFox



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: F/M, Post Game, more relationships & people added as they come, will probably skip time between most chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-04-29 17:36:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14477772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrownieFox/pseuds/BrownieFox
Summary: Traditionally, Male Gerudo are every 100 years.Traditionally, they are named Ganondorf.Traditionally, Ganondorf takes the Gerudo throne.(Traditionally, he causes ruin to all of Hyrule)-o-Calamity Ganon has been defeated.But another Gerudo male has been born.





	1. Chapter 1

The sands shifted under Link as he traveled to Gerudo town.

In a desert, a well-worn path can never exist, but well-known does. A tall Gerudo woman passed Link, and she spared the time to smile and nod at him as she continued on her way. Before entering the town, Link stopped by the shrine just outside of it. It had darkened, but the blue glow lit back up as soon as he came near. He could’ve simply traveled here using the sheikah slate, but he enjoyed seeing the scenery and visiting with the people he passed. And, of course, taking out a monster camp or two along the way never hurt anyone.

The two guards in the archway to Gerudo town nodded at Link as he entered, and though he knows they can’t see if mouth he smiles at them. He’s pretty sure they know he’s male, as do most of the Gerudo, but so long as he remains disguised as a female inside the walls they don’t seem to care too much.

“Sav’aaq!” Barely through the archway and Estan was waving him over. “Link, it’s been so long since I last saw you!”

It was, indeed, hard to visit the desert. It took about a day to get to the edge of the desert from Hyrule castle, closer to two if he was coming from Hateno, and that was without stopping at any towns. So really, it was more like 3-4 days after checking in with towns and helping random citizens. Then came the decision of sleeping at the stables or the oasis, since the desert nights were cold and bitter and often filled with monsters lurking in the sand.

“Sav’aaq Estan.” Link greeted back, walking over and admiring her selection or cooked meats. Nothing he didn’t already have, but then again most of the Gerudo merchants knew by now that it was fairly rare to make money off of him. “It’s been too long.”

“How have your travels been?” She asked excitedly.

“Amazing as ever. But then again when isn’t Hyrule? My companion and I have been doing some intense exploration of the Forgotten Temple, and we’re considering doing a full-blown excavation of it.”

“I always wanted to explore that place,” Estan said wistfully, “But there were so many guardians in there. Going in would’ve been a suicide mission.”

“Well, we’re going to need all the help we can get. You’re welcome to join when it’s in motion.” Link offered.

“Perhaps I will.” Estan replied thoughtfully. “What brings you here today anyway?”

“I have a little project for Isha.” Link replied, patting the pouch on his hip.

“Well don’t let me distract you any longer.” Estan ushered Link into the jewelry store.

“I thought I heard your voice.” Isha hummed, only glancing up from her work for a moment. Link waited patiently as she got to a good stopping point, admiring the works she had on display. “Alright, what can I do for you?”

“Could you fix this?” Link pulled out the broken jewelry from his bag. The old earrings still had a faint reddish color to them, badly chipped.

“Where’d you find these?” Isha took them from Link, inspecting them gently in the palm of her hand.

“The Forgotten Temple near Hebra. I’m hoping you can fix them in time for the anniversary of the defeat of Ganon.” Isha nodded thoughtfully.

“Oh yeah, I can do that. Let’s say… 2000 rupees, three rubies, and a diamond? I know it’s asking for a lot, but I have some fun plans for these.” Link handed over the needed materials.

“I can’t thank you enough. It’s for my best friend. You know how she loves ancient artifacts.”

“Who knows, maybe she’ll show her gratitude in a special way.” Isha winked at Link and Link blushed, looking away. Sure, he and Zelda were in a relationship but it wasn’t that far yet. They were taking it nice and slow. And, while they wouldn’t let it be ruled by the people, it didn’t hurt that it was good for Zelda’s image to seem strong enough to stand on her own.

“How long do you think it’ll be until it’s done?

“Mmm, I’d say two, maybe three days? I’m nearly done with this last order.” Isha carefully placed the earrings into a drawer. “I know you’re probably going to spend the entirety of it exploring, but you should stay around for a little bit. I know Patricia has missed you.”

“How could I visit without stopping by and seeing my favorite sand seal?” Link waved goodbye to Isha as he left. The guards in front of the throne room didn’t move as he passed by, and that was really all he could as for. A few of the younger gerudo - not so young anymore - were sitting in the ground before Riju as she stood on her chair, sword and shield in hand as she acted out some event or other. Link threw up a hand in a small wave, and he caught a small nod meant him as he silently slipped into Patricia’s room.

Surprisingly, Buliara was in Patricia’s room and not by Riju’s side. She was standing near the edge of the room, watching two Gerudo children play with Patricia. One of them, Vivoso, was making a trail of wildberries all around the room while another one that Link recognized though didn’t know the name of was sitting on Patricia’s back, giggling as the seal slowly scooted around.

“Good morning Buliara.” Link walked up next to her, craning his head back to look at her. 

“Sav’otta Link. Here for some wise words from Patricia?”

“More just to give her fruits.” Link withdrew his durian. 

“I’ll get the vehvi off of her, if you want” Buliara didn’t even wait for a reply, turning to look at the kids. “Vivoso, ‘Dorf, come here!”

Vivoso sighed dramatically, picking up her berries and carrying them loaded in her arms while the other, apparently ‘Dorf, slid off and ran over to Buliara immediately, grabbing onto her pants and looking over at Link with wide and curious eyes. She looked down at him, and Link saw her mouth’s corners lift up just a bit, face softening like he’d rarely seen it do.

“Hey there Patricia, miss me?” Link crouched down, scratching the sides of of her face. She was a bit more scarred up than the last time he saw her, but still seemed healthy and lively even as she was growing older. “I got you a treat.”

Patricia ate it right up, fang-like teeth crunching right through the fruit eagerly and then proceeded to flop around, making whining sounds. Link looked over his shoulders to Padda, awaiting the coming wisdom.

“Ah, let me see here… ‘A young child will bring sea… seriously change to you life. Do not think fate is already… sealed’. Hmm, interesting.” Link looked curiously from Padda to Buliara, both of who shared a look. 

“You may keep playing with Patricia, Vivoso. ‘Dorf and I are going to talk for a moment.” ‘Dorf stayed close close to Buliara as she moved to the throne room, making the sign for ‘follow me’. Vivoso tackled the sand seal and Link followed Buliara.

Buliara strode over to Riju, whispering something in her ear that made her sheath her sword and place the shield by the side of her throne. 

“Alright, the story will be continued later. Right now there is a matter i must attend to.” A few of the girls groaned, but they got up and left, leaving only the three Gerudo and LInk in the room. “Sav’otta Link, always good to see you. Now Buliara, what is it?”

“I feel we should not put off Patricia’s wisdom anymore.” Buliara sighed, picking up ‘Dorf and holding the child in her arms. “It is one thing for her to be warning us of secrets, but after what she said to Link, I feel it’s time we at least let someone know. The truth must come out eventually, and it would do us well to have allies who have been by our side, by ‘Dorf’s side, for many years.”

Link walked closer to the trio, and while he wasn’t really nervous under the stare of the two he considered to be friends, the intensity of their gazes did put him a bit on edge, fingers twitching in preparation to grab his sword should the need arise. 

“Link, we need to trust you. Trust you enough to keep a secret from Zelda until we believe it is time to tell her.” Riju set a hand on Link’s shoulder, green eyes looking deep into him.

“... I can’t promise that. If I think Zelda should know, that not knowing could hurt her, than it is my duty to tell her.” Link looked back with the same intensity. 

“... then so be it. We’ll tell you anyway, and we’ll just have to trust the both of you.” Riju sighed and Buliara knelt down so that Link was no longer craning his neck and could more clearly see the young Gerudo in her arms.

“Four years ago, Link, I had a vehvi.” The kid waved at Link, and Link waved back. Buliara kissed the top of ‘Dorf’s head. “But my vehvi, my vehvi is a he.”

At such a young age, it was impossible to tell. He looked just like any other Gerudo child, and nobody would be expecting a boy. He was even wearing the same clothes at the other Gerudo children.

“Hi.” ‘Dorf squeaked, and seemed to be trying to sink right into his mother’s arms. 

“‘Dorf... is it short for…?” Link ventured.

“When I had him, I decided to follow Gerudo tradition. His name is indeed Ganondorf.”


	2. Decisions, Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link talks with Ganondorf for a few short moments and has his heart won over.

Link looked over at the squeal from down the hall of the castle. He poked his head out of the random abandoned room, just barely able to see the Gerudo child - Ganondorf - run down the hallway, chasing after a poor rabbit that had found its way into the castle. Not far behind Paya followed, face etched with concern. Luckily she’d made the smart decision and had come in the sheikah uniform more made for movement rather than her usual more-bulky clothes. He and Zelda had asked her to come, making her first promise not to tell Impa. Somebody needed to watch the child as the adults talked.

Link sighed and set himself by the side of the doorway. On the other side was Buliara, and while she was obviously still on guard she had allowed herself to relax enough to lean against the wall, a similar position to Link himself. He couldn’t imagine what this was like for her. This was her only child, and they were discussing essentially how long they were going to let him live.

Sitting across from each other, a old and still dusty table between them, were Riju and Zelda. Neither had their poker faces on, knowing each other too well and being too close to want to bring it up in private. Both just looked sad to be here, that this was a conversation that they had to have.

“He has no marking on either of his hands?” Zelda asked, looking at the back of her own. She had mentioned seeing the triforce when she’d used her sealing powers, but now the back was blank.

“No, none.” Not that that meant much. But it had been reported before, one of the Legendary Trio having the triforce visible.

“Has he shown any odd… aggressions, even this young?”

“No. He’s been, well, a child.” It would be so easy, if he had the triforce on his hand, was a brat that already radiated the aura of a monster. He was just a child now though, young and new to the world.

“You can go if you want.” Link jumped a bit at the softly-spoken voice. He’d never heard Buliara so quiet before, as she did her best not to interrupt the discussion. “I will be able to watch them. I know you hate being in one place for too long.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to-”

“I need to stay for this.” She never turned to look at him, eyes locked on the Queens as they spoke, talking about previous deeds by previous Ganons, accounts of when the Gerudo had begun to show darkness in his soul. When they should tell others about him.

“If you’re sure…” Buliara just nodded. Link looked over at Zelda, making brief icontact and signing ‘leave’ to her. She flashed him a quick ‘okay’ before returning to the conversation.

Not much work had been done to fix up the castle yet. Zelda’s room and study had been fixed up along with the holes in the library room with the help of the Bolson Construction Company, but that was about it so far.  Instead, they’d encouraged the Company to start fixing up the remains of other towns scattered around Hyrule field. Over the past five years, while no real construction effort had been made, Link and whoever he could convince to help him at the time - usually Yunobo - had helped him to clear out some of the hallways so they were easier to get through.

The echoes of feet in the halls was unnerving, making Link draw his sword for the comfort of it. The memories of fighting monsters in here was all too clear some nights, and while he knew that he’d done a thorough sleep, a part of him still thought he may see something running behind corners.

“Paya?” Link called.

“Shh, you’re gonna lead her to me.”

Link spun around, sword held in front him but luckily he was able to withhold the muscle memory screaming at him to swing it. The small Ganondorf poked his head out of the ceiling, which, to be fair, had a huge hole in it.

“Lead… Paya? To you?” Ganondorf nodded vigorously.

“We’re playing hide n’ seek. And there’s so many places to hide here!”

“Is it okay if I hide with you?” The young Gerudo considered it for a moment.

“Okay. There’s a lot of room up here, especially for a shorty like you.”

“I’m taller than you.” Link sighed, all too used to people - especially Gerudo - pointing out his height, but at the end of the day not overly bothered by it.

“My mommy is taller than you. And all the other vai I know.” The little nook that Ganondorf had found was vaguely familiar to Link, nothing more than a room that’s entrance was blocked by rubble like so many others.

“Well I-”

“Shhhhh!” Ganondorf shushed Link, finger pressed to his lips as his ears twitched. Link listened and sure enough he could hear feet padding down the hallway below them.

“Ganondorf! Please come back! Your mom is going to be worried!”

‘Does Paya know you’re playing hide and go seek?’ Link signed. Ganondorf just shrugged. They waited until Paya’s footsteps had faded off into the distance before talking again.

“Ganondorf… do you know what your mom and the Queens are talking about?” The question sort of slipped out, suspended in the air between them before Link could do anything to stop it. Not that he hadn’t meant to ask it, but perhaps the Gerudo was too young to understand what he was, what his position meant. What his future could hold.

“No. Is it important?”

“... you seem like a good kid.”

oOo

The Queens decided, as Link thought they would, that with Ganondorf as young as he was, they couldn’t kill a child, much less one who has done nothing wrong. He was be allowed to be kept a secret until he was 16, where he would be introduced to the leaders of the other races, and things would be decided further from there.

Link had a feeling that, if another conclusion had been reached, he himself would’ve been willing to fight for the child’s life.


	3. The Gerudo and the Boar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ganondorf gets lost in the sands

The harsh sand bit into Ganondorf’s face as the storm around him raged on.

Everything had been okay, up until a little bit ago. 

Buliara and he had been exploring, him on her back as she stood on a shield, a strong sandseal pulling them along through the sandstorm. His mom loved to take him outside of the town, and he loved being in the desert that he usually only ever got to see through the archways of Gerudo Town. But she usually only ever took him out at night, or during sandstorms when they knew nobody else would be out. This had been one of the sandstorm trips.

A bump, a rock mostly covered by sand, had sent Buliara into the air and then down into the sand. Ganondorf had lost his grip at that point, rolling down the sandy hill. He’d heard Buliara call for him, and he’d tried to call back but found sand filling his mouth. For a while he’d stayed where he’d landed, spitting out the sand, eyes squeezed tight against the sand storm, curled up into himself. But his mom didn’t come and the sun was setting. If the sand didn’t bury him alive, the cold desert night would freeze him to death. 

He had to move.

“Mom?!” Ganondorf tried to call out, but his words were mostly blown away in the storm.  Desperately he reached down to his sirwal. One leg was already ripped, and the young Gerudo grabbed it and ripped it further, tying the piece around his mouth to keep the sand out. He could do this. He’d heard tons of stories of Gerudo who got lost in the desert and survived with their wits alone. 

For now he’d ignore all the stories of those who died out here, bones buried and destroyed by the sands.

The sand was loose under his feet, and for every two steps forward he only covered the equivalent of one step. Being raised in the desert meant he was no stranger to harsh sands, but the circumstances seemed to make it somehow even worse than it usually was. He was aware, almost distantly, that his breaths were coming in shorter and shorter gasps, tears pricking his eyes that weren’t caused solely by the sand. Where was his mom? Had she stopped looking for him? No, she wouldn’t have, she was still out there and so Ganondorf had to keep walking so he might find her or find somewhere safe. 

“MOM!” Ganondorf shouted, voice muffled by the fabric over his mouth. There was something out there, out in the storm. It didn’t move, and as he got closer he saw that it was one of the statues of The Seven. Any features that would’ve made it clear which one she was had long-since been destroyed, but it was clear that she had once been someone. Ganondorf ran as best he could to her, staring up at her like she would come alive and carry him out of the sandstorm. 

Not knowing what else to do, he knelt down like he’d seen Riju do before, forehead pressed to the gritty stones at the statues feet, and prayed. 

Praying wasn’t very common in Gerudo society. Hylians apparently did it more often, and long ago one of the queens had put a Hylia statue in Gerudo Town as a show of good-will to Hylian tourists and visitors. Most Gerudo only prayed if things were truly looking as if there was no other choice. The Chief, on the other hand, went far more often to pray to The Seven, see if there was anything they felt they needed to warn their people about. Buliara had accompanied Riju to these short pilgrimages to the giant statues, and Buliara often took Ganondorf with her. One day, it may just be his own job to guard and protect the future Chief. 

“Let me go home!” Ganondorf weeped. Were the Heroines not looking out for him? Was it… was it because he was male? Had they decided that he wasn’t worthy of their protection? “Please, let me go home!”

“Arf arf!”

Ganondorf’s head shot up and he scrambled to turn around, half disbelieving of what he’d heard. But there plain as day, lounging on the sands behind him, was a sand seal. She was completely unperturbed by the storm, rolling about on her back. The Gerudo turned back to the statue, and wrapped his arms around her stone and cold legs. 

“Thank you!” 

The seal was still there when Ganondorf turned back around. Heroine-sent, just for him. Slowly and carefully, Ganondorf walked forward, approaching the seal. He was almost upon her when she shifted back up right and dove into the sand. His knees felt weak, and Ganondorf could feel more tears coming - until he saw her pop up not too far away. Fighting away the tears, he chased after her - what seemed to be the only living thing in the entire desert. His only hope. What other choice did he have?

She continued to elude his grasp, right outside his reach every step of the way. Eventually Ganondorf felt he couldn’t move any farther. His skin had long-since been scratched raw from sand, his legs were in pain. The sun had set, and he was starting to shiver, arms wrapped tightly around himself. 

“W-wait up! Please!” Ganondorf begged, and his foot slipped in the sand. He gasped as he was sent tumbling down the sand again. When he came to a stop at the bottom of the mound, he didn’t get back up, just curled tighter into himself. Exhaustion took over him, and alone in the desert he fell asleep.

oOo

“Skwree!”

Ganondorf’s face crinkled, and then he opened his eyes. He was confused at first by not seeing his and Buliara’s room, and then further confused when he remembered what had happened but didn’t see endless sands stretched out before him, but instead a dim cave. He was still covered in sand, and he could feel the abrasions all over him crying out at the grit that was being rubbed into them.

“Skwree skwreeee?” Something nudged Ganondorf’s arm, and the Gerudo looked down to see… something. He wasn’t entirely sure what it was. It didn’t look like a sandseal, nor any kind of monster he’d ever seen. It’s nose was big, and small little fangs poked out of its mouth. The creature’s head blended into its body, and as it curiously pranced around the voe little cloven hooves tapped the stone underneath them. 

“H-hi there?” Ganondorf gently patted the little things head. A thick tongue darted out and licked his fingers. 

“Skwree!”

“Skw-skwreeee!” Three more of the little things got up from where they had been lying, probably asleep but now awoken by Ganondorf’s voice. They were all so curious, one even going as far as to nibble on Ganondorf’s sirwal. It was the ripped leg, though, so he didn’t pay it much mind.

All four stopped playing around, however, when strong thumps started to echo through the cave and the low-light he had been seeing from was blocked. Ganondorf looked up, shifting a bit farther back as the four small creatures ran up to a much bigger version. The Gerudo’s eyes widened at the sight. It must’ve been taller than Riju, maybe even taller than Buliara, and like his mom it looked to be pure muscles. 

Ganondorf shifted to the side, enough so that he could see there was something in its mouth. The beast set it down and the four little ones dug right into the monster, eating their fill. The big one watched for a moment before turned to look at Ganondorf, eyes seeming to glow golden in the low-lightning. Ganondorf stopped moving, hoping it didn’t see him, but it just walked closer. He could feel the hot breath from its nose on his face. 

He reached up, touching its nose. It didn’t attack. Now filled with a bit more courage, he got back to his feet, scratching the place between its eyes, the way that Patricia usually enjoyed. A tentative smile cut across Ganondorf’s face. 

“Nice to meet you.”

oOo

Buliara stared out at the desert. 

Her son was out there somewhere. Even if by now he was most likely just a small corpse, hidden in the sands, she had to find him. If nothing else, he deserved a proper funeral. A dark part of her whispered that perhaps this was for the best. His life would have so many problems in the future, if he had grown.

“We’ll find him.” At her side, Riju looked every part the Chief. She stood tall (though not as tall as Buliara or her mother yet). As soon as Buliar had realized she wouldn’t be able to find Ganondorf on her own, she’d returned to Gerudo town to seek the help of the guard. They were more than willing to help, even without it being an order from Riju as soon as the Chief heard.

But would they really? They’d been searching most of the night, as far into the storm as they dared, and renewed their efforts with more vigor and soldiers in the morning when the storm had calmed down and it wasn’t so cold. Still, the only thing they had found of him so far was a piece of his sirwal nearly-buried.

Sudden shouting drew both of their attention, and in a moment they were off moving through the sand with their seal pulling them. 

“What is it?” Buliara called as she reached the top of the sand-mound, looking down at the two Gerudo soldiers who had been shouting. One was looking up at them, and she gestured in front of her where another was pointing a spear at… a boar?

Legends told tales that a thousand years ago, there were boars than roamed the desert, even more common than the seals were now. But after Ganon was sealed underneath Hyrule castle by the Hero, the boar had disappeared. And yet here was one before her, larger than any that roamed the rest of Hyrule. It was grunted at the Gerudo soldier, fangs bared dangerously.

“Stop! They’re fine!” 

And there on its back was her baby. 

Releasing the sandseal’s harness, Buliara sledded the rest of the way down the hill, past the two soldiers, and stood between them at the boar. It regarded her with small and sharp eyes. Even normal boars out in Hyrule were dangerous. This one would be more than a chore to take down. It didn’t attack, however, and neither did she.

“Mom!” Ganondorf crawled farther up the boar’s back so that he could look down at her form over the beast’s head.

“Ganondorf, get over here.” She kept her voice calm, not wanted to upset the boar while he son was on him. He slid down the side, landing with a grunt, and ran over to her, hugging her leg. 

“Mom, I thought I’d never see you again!” She knelt down, wrapping her arms around him as he sobbed onto her shoulder.

“It’s alright, my vehvi, I have you now.” Buliara reassured him. She looked at the boar again, and it almost looked as if it nodded respectfully to him before running off, back into the sands. “‘Dorf, how is it you came across that boar?” She asked as she picked him up. She could walk the rest of the way. Riding a seal meant letting him go, and nothing could break her grip on him now that he was with her again.

“I think she saved me.”

Riju, once again at Buliara’s side, shot her a look. Buliara’s mouth pressed into a thin line. 

But that was a worry for another day. For now, she thanked The Seven for watching out for her son and started the trek back to Gerudo Town.


	4. Ganondorf and Link Bonding

“Link, Link come look at this!”

Link felt a familiar, small, and content smile slip onto his face as he approached Zelda, carefullying, picking his way through rubble. The Forgotten Temple had been a mess before, when he’d first journeyed through it, but now it was doubly-so. Bits of Guardians were strewn about the floor, loose dirt and rocks making it a maze to get around. There were several other people in the temple besides just Zelda and himself, mostly a couple of Hylains, a rito, a goron, and Estan. As soon as Link and Zelda decided to open up the request for help in what was more or less an archaeological dig and preservation act, he’d notified the Gerudo woman.

‘What did you find this time?’ Link signed, not in the mood to open his mouth and taste all of the dust and dirt in the air. Zelda stood up, something cradles in her hands, and proudly presented it to him with a large and pleased smile.

“A goddess plume! They say these came from the goddess Hylia herself thousands of years ago.” The plume was dirty, but other than that it didn’t look like it had been too bothered by the elements. Whether that was because it had been relatively sheltered or it had something to do with the material of the item, Link didn’t know. 

“Sav’aaq, Chief Riju and Buliara! What brings you all the way out here?” Link looked towards the entrance of the Forgotten Temple at Estan’s call. Sure enough there was the tall and imposing Gerudo guard trailing after the Gerudo Chief that Link had called friend for many years now. And trailing after Buliara was a much smaller figure of a child, wearing Gerudo clothes and looking curiously at everything around him.

“I wanted to see how the excavation was going. Perhaps there is something here that will be relevant to Gerudo culture.” Riju replied, nodded to Estan and continuing to walk towards Link and Zelda.

“Chief Riju, so good to see you again.” Zelda slipped the goddess plume into her shoulder bag and walked to meet the chief, going for a handshake but Riju pushing past it to hug the other.

“Please, Zelda, no need for formalities when neither of us are on duty.” Link blinked at that, reminded of the visions (not really memories, seeing as they weren’t his) that he’d gained as part of the task to unlock his divine beast. The one with Urbosa and Zelda, walking outside of Gerudo Town together, looking oddly almost like mother and daughter. Of course, Riju and Zelda were also so clearly not as close as the Chief of a hundred years ago and the now Queen of Hyrule were, but it was also clearly a steadily growing friendship. Many kingdoms would’ve frowned at such an unprofessional relationship between leaders, but Hyrule was a kingdom that didn’t care. 

‘You both look well.’ Link signed before spreading his arms for a hug. She was taller than him now, tall enough to easily rest her chin on his head.

“I’m afraid we haven’t found anything to do with Gerudo as of yet.” Zelda led the group to the back of the building where the Goddess Statue was and where nobody else was currently working. “Not too much of a surprise, though, seeing as scripts mention the Forgotten Temple long before there’s any word of the Gerudo.”

“True, of course, but let us be honest here,” Riju looked back at the people working, making enough noise and far enough away that none would hear what she said next, “I’m using this as an excuse to leave Gerudo Town for a few days and get some fresh, non-desert air. And Buliara wanted to show her  _ vehvi _ a bit of the rest of Hyrule.”  _ While he’s still young enough to do so and not be judged  _ went unsaid but Link, and he was sure Zelda, heard it just fine.

“Hey there ‘Dorf.” Link lowered himself a bit, holding a hand out for a high-five. Ganondorf grinned - a couple of teeth missing - and high-fived the chosen hero. 

“He’s been very excited to see you again.” It was hard to tell how Buliara felt about the fact, stating it plain and with little emotion in her voice, but when Link looked up at her the edge of her mouth twitched and he took it to be a good thing. “You are the only other male he knows personally.”

“Let’s go play hide and seek!” Ganondorf grabbed Link’s hand and started to tug at it. 

“‘Dorf,” Buliara said, a motherly edge to her voice, and Ganondorf looked like he’d heard an entire reprimand in that single word. 

‘It’s okay, I’m not bothered by it.’ Buliara shook her head.

“I do not want him doing too much wandering here. Unlike Hyrule castle, there is a stable nearby. It is bad enough that they are here,” Buliara gestured back to the workers, “I do not want him getting Noticed.” Ganondorf’s mouth turned down into an almost pout. 

‘We can still do something that isn’t playing a game.’ Link signed. Ganondorf squinted at his hands and Link repeated the signs again. His face scrunched up in concentration.

“... what can we do?” Ganondorf asked, both in answer to Link’s statement and looking at Link to see if he had understood the signs. Link grinned and gestured for the Gerudo to follow him. He looked at Buliara once more just to make sure she wasn’t disagreeing.

“Be careful with my boy, Link.” She warned. Link nodded. 

“What are we going to do?” Ganondorf asked, and Link pointed at the Goddess statue. 

“We’re going to climb it.” Ganondorf’s mouth opened in a big ‘O’. “Do you need help?” He shook his head, face suddenly very determined.

“I got this.”

And he did have this, though his progress was very slow. Link made sure to stay next to him, in case he suddenly couldn’t go any farther, but for being a child the boy’s stamina was amazing. Link wasn’t sure if it was do to his upbringing or simple his race. Eventually they made it to the platform held up by Hylia’s hands, and Ganondorf flopped down, panting. 

“See? Did you see what I did Link?”

“Yeah, I see.” Link chuckled. “Your signing has gotten worse.” Ganondorf’s gaze dropped.

“Not a lot of people sign in Hylian in Gerudo Town. I don’t get to practice a lot. Mom taught me when I was little, and I was really good.”

“I’ll just have to slip into town more often to help you out.” Link smiled, and Ganondorf grinned back, swinging his legs as they rested over the ledge. In truth, Link couldn’t guarantee getting out much more than he already did, and most of the time he could get away from duties it was spend in other regions of Hyrule and with Zelda. 

“What are they doing?” Ganondorf pointed out towards the excavators. 

“They’re seeing what they can find. This used to a sacred place, as far as we can tell. Zelda’s been doing research into it.” Link explained.

“We have  _ way  _ bigger statues than this.” Ganondorf crossed his arms, looking a bit smug, and Link chuckled as he ruffled the other’s hair. 

“Believe me, I know, I’ve had to climb them all. But you know the stories for them. Do you know the story for this?” Link patted the landing. Ganondorf shook his head, eyes practically sparkling as soon as he heard the word ‘story’. At the very least, it was the legend that seemed to match up with the Forgotten Temple best. Not to mention, it was one of the ones that didn’t mention Ganon. 

“Does it have a lot of adventure in it? And fighting?” 

“It was one of my favorite Chosen Hero stories when I was your age. What would you say if I told you that there was a time that the triforce, in all of its glory, once sat right there?” Link pointed behind them, hoping he sounded confident enough for the tale to sound true. 

“What? No way!”

Link smiled, standing up as he pointed upwards.

“The legend says that long ago, Hylians lived above the mountains, higher than Vah Medoh can fly, above even the clouds, and in this town atop floating rocks, lived a young man, the Hero of the Sky. Of course, he wasn’t a hero at the time, but a mere knight-in-training who never even wondered if there was anything below the clouds…”

Ganondorf looked up at the ceiling of the cave, as if he could see past it, through it, to the place that the old legend told of. And Link tried to comfort himself with the fact that no Hero had yet been older than their Ganondorf, he had no reason to think that a day may come where he’d have to fight against the monster this little boy may become.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a short chapter, I know, but the next one is one that i've been really excited to write for a while!


	5. Arbiter's Grounds

Ganondorf adjusted his grip on his sandseal’s rope. He looked to his right, where Teake also rode through the sand. Ganondorf did his best not to wobble on his shield. He’d had a lot of practice shield surfacing, and during the middle of the night when no sane person would be out in the desert he’d even gone around the racing course a time or two. But right now the nerves bugging the inside of his stomach threatened to make him slip up. 

He squinted through the wind in front of him, just barely able to make out Buliara leading the way through desert. She hadn’t told him too much about where they were going, just that it was somewhere only the most trusted Gerudo knew about and were tasked to protect and keep from being stolen. Ganondorf knew Buliara was hoping he’d follow in her footsteps as a personal guard to the Gerudo royal line, and in all honesty he sort of wanted to.

It was the middle of the day, the sun bearing down on them with waves of heat. The normal Gerudo clothes wouldn’t be adequate, and on a whim he’d been given actual voe armor for the outing. Not many people would be crazy enough to be heading out towards the middle of the desert at this hour. The armor was strange, fitting a bit oddly and exposing more of Ganondorf’s chest than he was used to. 

“Ganondorf!” The Gerudo looked to his right as Teake called his name. “When we get to the ruins, let your seal go and climb on the nearest stone. Buliara and I will take care of things.” Ganondorf swallowed nervously, but nodded. 

With Buliara ahead of them, he was able to watch as she entered the area of the ruins, letting her seal go and running up to climb a pillar - a great mound of something moving in the sand following her the entire way. He had heard of Molduga before, had seen their guts brought back to town and used in medicines or rare delicacies. He’d heard stories of people being swallowed alive by them, or losing a leg and then their life soon after, not being able to get back to town for medical aid in time. 

He accidently steered his seal into one of the ruins and she immediately broke off of the hold. Ganondorf stumbled forward, landing stomach first on the rough stone and crawling up onto it. The moving mound had moved a bit in his direction, but not nearly close enough to get him. 

“Are you ready, Buliara?” Teake asked from where she was perched atop what looked like what once was a doorway. She removed one of the three bombs from her back, bouncing it in her hand as if it wasn’t a dangerous explosive.

“Of course I am.” Buliara replied, taking the golden claymore into her hands. Teake lit the bomb’s fuse and lobbed it near the Molduga. The sand shifted, and then the great beast burst out into the air, sand following it and filling the air. The spray managed to hit Ganondorf a bit, but he did his best to keep looking, awed and terrified at the huge creature. 

The bomb in its mouth must’ve exploded, as when it fell back to the sand it stayed there, making a groaning sound, unmoving. Both Buliara and Teake were waiting for it, letting lose a flurry of attacks and retreating to the safety of a ruin heartbeats before the Molduga regained its strength and attempted to hit them. They did this couple more times before the beast finally became an ashy-black and exploded into dust.

“Ganondorf, it’s safe now.” Teake waved him over and then returned to shoving the left-over body parts of the monster into a bag to bring back. Ganondorf warily left the safety of the ruin, drawing his scimitar just in case.

“What if the Molduga ruined the artifacts?” Ganondorf asked.

“Would you believe me if I told you the Molduga was purposely brought here?” His mother’s mouth twitched into a smirk. 

“Really?! How?!” Buliara shrugged.

“It was many generations ago, but the monster acts as an unofficial guardian.” She explained, and the trio walked to the center of ruins. “This is Arbiter’s Grounds, a place forever haunted by the ghosts of our wrongfully-slaughtered ancestors. Do not worry, though, you are safe under their watch.” She stopped at the rock, brushing away at the sand at the base of it until a hatch was revealed. Buliara grabbed the latch, but hesitated for a moment, looking back at Ganondorf. “Ganondorf, my son, I believe you to be ready for this. But do you feel ready to face what is ahead?”

Ganondorf looked into his mother’s green eyes. He didn’t have her eyes, his being far paler, almost yellow in color. In her eyes, he could see only love and acceptance in whatever his reply would be. He sucked in a deep breath. He was ten years old. He was old enough to start taking responsibility.

“Yes.”

Beneath the hatch was a ladder, leading straight down, luminous stones giving a faint light. It was much cooler in the shaft, and now Ganondorf understood why Teake had insisted he wear a ruby circlet. 

Buliara had already lit a torch when he reached the bottom, and her face was very serious, almost morose. It was the face she wore when there were rumors of the Yiga moving close to Gerudo Town, when people talked about Calamity Ganon or quietly whispered about Riju. Ganondorf knew better than to say anything when she was wearing that face. He quietly walked behind her.

“Here is the first room.”

Buliara’s voice echoed eerily in the passageway. Ganondorf nearly ran into her at the sudden stop. She handed the torch to Ganondorf and took out a set of keys, leafing through them until she found the one for the door to her left and unlocked it. 

The room was covered, wall to wall, with carefully-displayed weapons. All of these seemed to be daggers, most of the similar in make, but a few distinctly different. In the middle of the room was a set of plates made of stone, engraved with Gerudo words. He knew better than to try and touch any of the weapons, and instead stayed close behind his mom as she went to plates.

“These are cursed and charmed weapons.” Teake explained. “Created during times of war, usually under a male Gerudo’s reign of power. These are dark times of our past, but most of these weapons cannot simply be destroyed. So we keep them here, where they cannot cause any harm.”

“Each room has a directory to what’s in it, what each weapon is capable of, and where it can be found.” Buliara pointed to the stone plates. 

There were so many rooms, each filled with weapons. More daggers, swords of all makings, arrows, bows, hammers, axes, boomerangs, anything you could think of was down there. Buliara and Teake didn’t seem to be in any sort of rush, and after the first room they waited outside of it patiently, unlocking it when they got to it and relocking it once Ganondorf exited. He’d enter, torch in hand, looking at the fearsome weapons of his race’s past. He’d flipped through some of the lists, listing curses he didn’t know and wars he hadn’t learned about yet. 

Eventually they reached the end of the hallway, the last door locked. 

“... are… are we done now?” Ganondorf looked down the way they’d come. He’d never been faced so much with Gerudo history before. He’d always known they’d done some bad things in their past, but to see all of the terrible things they’d forged… it made him sick to look at. He wanted to be out of here, out of this choking and stale, dusty air, and yet he wasn’t sure he wanted to go back down there, now that he knew what lay behind each and every one of those doors.

“Not yet.” Buliara took out one more key, bigger and more elaborate than the others. She stuck it into the wall, into what had looked a time-worn hole in a crevice. Teake knelt down and lifted the bottom of the wall-door, shoving it upwards.

“You two go in, I’ll stay out here and keep guard.” Teake offered. Buliara nodded her thanks. 

“Ganondorf, leave the torch out here for Teake.” Buliara instructed. Ganondorf opened his mouth, maybe to protest, not wanting to let go of the comforting light, but it died in his throat and he hung it on one of the holders on the wall.

The door slammed closed behind them, but they weren’t cast into darkness. The walls seemed to be solid walls of luminous ore, lending a good amount of light. A spiral staircase lead them farther down, and something about it all made shivers run up Ganondorf’s spine and a sick feeling to manifest in his stomach.

“Never come here alone.” Buliara advised, hand trailing along the wall. Ganondorf did the same, thinking about what Buliara said about this place being haunted. One of the older Gerudo had once told him that a luminous stone’s light came from the souls of the dead. No wonder the stones were so bright here.

Ganondorf’s breath was stolen from his chest at what he saw at the bottom of the staircase.

The sword was pure white, the very tip of it stuck into an elaborate pedestal. There was no luminous stone in the room, but there didn’t need to be; the sword was glowing, more than strong enough to keep the room lit up. There was no directory in this room, but there didn’t need to be, seeing as the sword was the only thing in the room. 

“This is the Sword of the Six Sages. It was forged to kill a Gerudo King, but failed and he wielded it himself. We do not know how to return it to the Spirit Realm, and so we must keep it from falling into the wrong hands - even if those hands belong to our own kind.” Buliara, who had been staring at the blade, looked down at Ganondorf. He couldn’t pinpoint what emotion was in her eyes. “If Riju were to come down here and take this sword, it would be my duty to convince her to put it back. If she did not, It would then be my duty to do whatever it would take to stop her. The circumstances don’t matter - this blade is never to be held again.” 

“I understand.” Ganondorf tried to swallow the lump in his throat. Who would ever try and wield it? Just being close to it sent him edge, shouting at him to get as far away as he could from the blade. “... is this it?”

“There is one more weapon that is held down here.” Buliara sighed. She offered her son her hand for comfort, and he took it. The familiar callouses did little to soothe him, but he would take what he could get. 

They gave the sword a wide berth, and behind it was a doorway that Ganondorf hadn’t noticed when they had entered. This room had not lighting, and only the light from the Sword of the Six Sages let him see what was in it. 

The sword was giant and black, and like the Sword of the Six Sages, the top had been stuck into a pedestal. Runes decorated it in a language Ganondorf didn’t understand but struck something in his core - like a primal instinct telling him that they meant something powerful. The blade wasn’t straight like the Sword of the Six Sages, instead curved and spiked. Near the handle, Ganondorf could make out the emblem of the triforce. A red stone glinted on its hilt, and the handle looked shiny and new.

Thick ropes were tied around its handle, leading out to the edge of a circle enscribed in the same old runes as the pedestal. Old pieces of parchment hung off the ropes. 

“This is perhaps the most dangerous weapons down here.” Buliara didn’t move farther than a step or two from the doorway. “The sword of the Demon King, Demise. If someone were to pull it from the pedestal and break the bindings, then ruin would surely befall all of Hyrule. Ganondorf, you must promise me you will never so much as enter this room after today.”

He looked at his mother, hand still in hers.

“I promise.” 

She looked like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She closed his eyes, breathing in a deep breath and holding it there for a long moment.

“Thank you, my  _ vehvi,  _ thank you.”

Buliara turned to leave, and Ganondorf looked back at it one last time. 

But there was no sword there.

A man, black as the sword with white diamond patterns crisscrossing his skin, was in its place. A giant red diamond-shaped jewel sat on his chest, mostly hidden by his arms, crossed over his chest, the thick ropes wrapped around him. His head was bowed downwards, eyes closed. 

His eyes fluttered.

Then there was no man. Just a sword.

Ganondorf couldn’t get out of there fast enough. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is honestly one of the chapters that made me want to write this in the first place :D i think it turned out pretty good, too :)


	6. Ganondorf and the Council

“Stay here until I come for you.” 

Buliara was bent down so that she was Ganon’s same height. He was growing fast, but he still had quite a ways to go before he would reach her height. She placed her hands on his shoulders, and one of his hands overlapped her’s, rubbing it comfortingly.

“I know.”

They had been over this a millions times, what they were to do, how they would introduce him. She kissed his forehead. 

“Be strong, my  _ vehvi.”  _

And then she was gone, back into the room in Hyrule Castle where the leaders of the various races and the pilots of the Divine Beasts would be gathering.

“I’m sure it’ll be okay, ‘Dorf.” Paya attempted to soothe his nerves. Ganondorf just sighed, dropping down to the ground, holding his head in his hands and taking a second to mourn what was to come. What if the council decided it was just safest to kill him? Would he have to let them? Would he try and run away? What if this was all just part of his backstory before he went evil, like all of the Ganondorf’s before him?

Eliza and Rhoam, however, did not seem to pick up on his internal crisis.

“Dorf?” Ganondorf looked up at the five year old as she essentially shoved a book in his face. “Can you read this for me?”

Rhoam, the adorable toddler he was, had plopped himself onto Ganondorf’s lap, reached up, and was playing with one of his earring. Ganondorf winced as Rhoam pulled on it. 

“Oh, Rhoam, don’t do that, no!” Paya picked Rhoam off of him. Rhoam squealed, flailing in the sheikah’s arms. 

“It’s okay, Paya, I spend a lot of time’s with kids. I’m used to it.” Ganondorf soothed, taking the book from Eliza’s hands. She sat down next to him, peeking over his arm at the book as he opened it up.

“Daddy was reading it to me last night. He got to the part where, um, where, where the guy was fighting a witch, but she was made of two witches - And he won! And then the hero was um, he was going to the, to the place with, uh, with the-”

“It’s okay, I think I know where you are.” Ganondorf flipped through the book. He recognized it, the story of the Hero of Time. Admittedly it was simplified down and every other page had a colorful picture. Paya put down Rhoam and he ran over to Ganondorf, latching onto his back and peeking over. Ganondorf found the page that showed a green-clothed Hylian standing outside of a stone building. “Is this about where you were?”

“Yes!” Eliza cheered, practically vibrating next to him. He couldn’t help but to smile a bit. They weren’t his Gerudo little ‘sisters’, but kids were still kids and he couldn’t stay upset or focused on his growing anxiety. Ganondorf straightened up a little bit, clearing his throat.

“‘Link-’”

“That’s daddy’s name!” Eliza pointed out.

“Daddy!” Rhoam echoed. Ganondorf chuckled.

“‘Link entered the temple of time, but he was not alone. He turned around and there was-’”

“Sheik! Is it Sheik?” Eliza slapped Ganondorf’s arm excitedly.

“‘- was Sheik. ‘I’ve been waiting for you.’ Sheik said. ‘You have found the six sages and now must soon fight Ganondorf-’” Ganondorf’s voice wavered a bit at the name, reminded of what he was here in this slowly-being-repaired castle, “‘the King of Evil. First, I have something to tell you. The Triforce is made up of three part, three holy triangles - Power, Courage, and Wisdom. You hold Courage, and Ganondorf holds Power. The Triforce of Wisdom is held by the seventh sage.’ Sheik held up their hand, revealing a triangle there.’”

“Sheik is the seventh sage!” Eliza cheered.

“‘There was a bright flash, and Link could not see. When he could see again, Sheik was gone. Standing where they had been was Zelda herself, now an adult like Link himself. ‘I have waited for you for ten years, Link.’ Zelda said, and smiled.’” Eliza squealed.

“Sheik is Zelda! Zelda is my mommy’s name!” 

“Mommy Zelda!” Rhoam echoed. He wrapped his legs around Ganondorf’s torso.

“No, wait, I’m Zelda - the one from the story!” Eliza stood up and pulled Rhoam off of Ganondorf. “And Rho, you can be story Link! Together, we’re going to take down Ganondorf. Dorf, Dorf, you  _ have  _ to play Ganondorf!” Eliza tugged at his arm. Ganondorf swallowed, standing up.

“I, I don’t know, Eliza, I’m going to be-”

“Great and fearsome evil Ganondorf, your evil reign has come to an end as I, Princess Zelda, and my great friend Link will defeat you.” Eliza ran forward and grabbed Ganondorf’s leg. Rhoam followed suit. Ganondorf shook his head. 

“... OH! But Link and Zelda, you have fallen for my trap!” He started to stop around the room, swinging the children on his legs as they cheered and shrieked with joy. “You thought you had me, but I have now captured you!” Ganondorf played with them for a while, wrestling with the kids, throwing them into the air - that always made Paya afraid, no matter how many times he successfully caught them on their way down.

And then there was a knock at the door.

Ganondorf froze, his stomach plummeting.

The door opened up to reveal Buliara, strict as ever. 

“Ganondorf, it’s time.”

Despite their protests, he pulled Rhoam and Eliza off of him and back in Paya’s care. He prayed this wouldn’t be the last time he would see them. 

The walk from the room where the kids were being kept to the Throne Room was long, agonizingly so. Any peace and comfort that Ganondorf had managed to get from being around Eliza and Rhoam faded entirely by the time he got to their destination. She didn’t say anything to him, but she did hold his hand all the way until they reached the door to the Throne Room. Only then did she let it go, stepping back. Ganondorf’s hands shook as he grabbed the handle swung the large wooden door open.

Up, above everybody else in the room, on a sort of balcony was Queen Zelda and Link. Standing around the room below them were the leaders and the Pilots. Riju offered him a smile from the far right corner of the room. The rest of the corners were much less welcoming. It wasn’t so much that they were glaring at him, or shouting words of hate, screaming for his demise already. They just kinda look… surprised. And a bit cold. Speechless that he existed. Maybe this would be easier if they  _ were _ shouting at him.

Of course, he knew all of them. Buliara had made sure he knew who would be deciding his fate. In the far left corner he could see Chief Kaneli of the Rito, the old bird (literally) that he was. A chair had been brought for him to sit in. On one side of him was his guard and, when he passed away, his successor, Mazli. On the other side of him was Teba. His white feathers stood out drastically in the dark and dreary room. 

To his right, in the corner closer to him, were the Gorons. The current Goron Patriarch, Bludo, was the one whose eyes held the closest thing to a glare, and Ganondorf prayed that was just the way the goron’s face usually looked. He’d take the glare over the look on Vah Rudania’s Pilot’s face; Yunobo looked almost fearful upon seeing Ganondorf. Ganondorf’s hands clenched into fists, his nails scraping the inside of his hand as he desperately tried not to have a panic attack. 

In the front left corner of the room was the final group. Zora were rare to find out as far as the desert. One of the older Gerudo had once told him it was because of the desert’s heat; if a zora’s skin dried out, they’d die. Ganondorf hadn’t fact-checked her, but it seemed a good enough reason. At the very least, the heat and dryness and lack of almost any bodies of water must be less than ideal for them. 

The two zora were an intimidating sight, towering over even his mother. King Dorephan just stared at him, and Ganondorf shifted uncomfortably. His son and Pilot, Sidon, looked much more welcoming. Sure, he, too, was tall, with a face that didn’t show any hint of a smile and sharp predatorial eyes that set Ganondorf on edge… okay maybe Ganondorf was just trying to grasp at straws for something to keep him grounding. 

He looked back at Riju, and she gave him another smile. Buliara stepped away from his back and returned to her position next to Riju. He straightened up and looked back up at Zelda and Link. 

“Please, introduce yourself to the council.” 

Zelda’s voice sounded every bit the regal she had been raised to be. 

“Ganondorf of the Gerudo, son of Buliara, soldier in training.” His voice didn’t quaver as he said it, and he was glad for that. 

“I had heard rumors, but I had hoped they would remain just rumors.” Bludo grunted. Ganondorf’s eyes flickered over to the goron in time to see him fold his arms, face now showing a scowl. “We found him for a hundred years, now we have to kill him again?”

“We don’t have to kill him,” Zelda pointed out, appearing calm and collected. Ganondorf doesn’t take his eyes off of her. She was probably his best ally right now, aside from Riju. “We don’t even know if he is The Ganondorf. Buliara, you said that you named him that simply because it was what tradition dictates, correct.”

“Yes, your highness.” Buliara nodded. “In his fourteen years of life, he has not shown any harmful intent.”

Well, they both knew that was somewhat of a lie. Just a couple days ago Ganondorf had dangled one of the younger Gerudo from a by their feet. She had been sneaking his berries and he just couldn’t let that fly. Of course, he would never have dropped her, and that wasn’t what Buliara was really talking about, but being judged right now made every bad or even questionable thing he’d ever done come to the forefront of his mind. 

“And in the Legend of the Hero of Time, that Ganondorf is described as originally appearing kind and charismatic.” King Dorephan added. “Perhaps you are simply too close to him to see him for who he is, Buliara - I mean no disrespect,” He quickly added as Buliara’s glared at him and took a step in his direction. “But he is your child, you are expected to care for him. Young Ganondorf, come over here.” 

Ganondorf short a fearful look to Buliara, but she just nodded.

He walked to the giant zora, legs feeling like jello and he was surprised they somehow still managed to support him. He stuck a hand (fin?) out once Ganondorf was within reach and pinched Ganondorf’s face between two clawed fingers. 

_ He could kill me right now. _

But the zora king did not squeeze Ganondorf’s face until it popped. He simply turned it one way, then the other, looking him over. 

“Show me your hand, boy.” 

Ganondorf stuck both his hands out, the backs because he knew that was what Dorephan was really asking about. 

“Does he have the mark of the triforce?” Kaneli asked. Dorephan shook his head.

“No, but that means very little. Not many Ganondorf are recorded to have been born with the triforce of Power in their possession, and Zelda is proof one can hold a piece and not have the mark.” Dorephan hummed. 

“We should just get rid of him before he causes trouble, while he’s still young.” Bludo stated. “He caused ruin to all of our lands over a hundred years ago because he caught us by surprise and unprepared. We’d have to be idiots to sit back and let him do it again.

“Perhaps. But should we let our fear make murderers of us?” Kaneli chirped. “Ganondorf in many legends is still, at his base, a Gerudo man. Calamity Ganon wasn’t, but this mere child before us is.” Mazli looked like he actually wanted to argue, but held his tongue.

“Zelda, Link, what do you two think?” Dorephan looked up at them. “It may be… a bit selfish of me to think, but I feel we - Sidon included - should have the most say in this.”

“What are you trying to say you rotten fish?!” Bludo growled.

“I’m saying that we say the first attack by Calamity Ganon first hand. I lost my daughter to him. Sidon lost his sister. Zelda lost his father. Link lost his past.” 

Bludo didn’t seem happy about, but also seemed to see some truth in the King’s statement. Even Ganondorf could see it. If any of the people in this room would hold a grudge against him, it would be those people. He stared at the two heroes of Hyrule. If he was truly The Ganondorf, his fate and theirs had been intertwined, reincarnated for hundreds of thousands of years. 

“... would you blame the knife for the murder of man? Worse yet, would you blame a knife that simply bears a resemblance to the murder weapon?” Zelda mused. “My Champions, you have all worn your blue today.” 

“O-of course!” Yunobo spoke for the first time, and Ganondorf was shocked by how different he sounded from Bludo. 

“Ganondorf, have you ever been inside of a Divine Beast before?” Zelda asked. Ganondorf shook his head. “I do not see why we must worry. This Ganondorf, at the very least, is clearly a physical being. He cannot simply possess our Divine Beasts and wouldn’t know the first thing about so much as boarding one. If he were to stray down the wrong path and show darkness in his soul, we have the means to kill him almost effortlessly.”

“... if he turns on us, I tried to warn you all.” Bludo glared. 

“I would hate to be the one to sentence a young man to his death.” Kaneli added.

“And what do you think, King Dorephan?” Zelda asked. He was silent for a long heartbeat. 

“My daughter had a bright soul. She always saw the best in people. It would be a disservice to her memory not to do the same. A man should be deemed innocent until proven guilty, after all.” Dorephan replied rather decisively.

“Then if we are in agreement, Ganondorf of the Gerudo, you may continue to live on.” 

The decree should’ve sent relief through Ganondorf, but it didn’t.

He, and everybody else in the room, knew that the decision was just as fragile as the one made when he was just a baby. They may as well have him wear a noose around his neck, save them a little time. 


	7. Desert Escort

“Are you sure you want to come? I’m sure Teake would be more than willing to accompany me.” Riju offered again, fixing her ruby cuffs. Ganondorf shook his head, his hand resting easily on the hilt of his scimitar. He was more used to the voe armor now, his skin tanned to it.

“No. Staying here and worrying over my mom would accomplish nothing. It’s not what she would want me to do.” Ganondorf stated, leaving no room for argument. “And it’s not as if she’ll die while we’re gone. We got the Molduga guts to her in time.”

“Are you ready?” Riju asked, picking up her bag. Ganondorf nodded and picked up his own bag, slinging it across his back and standing up straight. 

“Yes. Let’s get going.”

Ganondorf hadn’t gotten any more used to people staring at him. The Gerudo Male had faded from rumor to truth, at least for those who visited Gerudo Town. The women stared at him, and he wished he was still small and young. He was already starting to come into his Gerudo height, taller than most Hylian women, but he was still shorter than most of the other Gerudo in town, including Riju and his mother. He loved Gerudo Town with all his heart, but he found himself slipping out more and more often, away from prying eyes. At least now it was late at night and most tourists were asleep. Still, a couple of them ogled him as he walked, and he did his best to ignore them.

Outside of town, Riju called over Patrick, Patricia’s only offspring. The old sandseal was still alive, but was too old for surfing these days. Ganondorf nabbed one of the seals hanging around, slipping his shield underneath his feet and holding tightly to the rope connecting him to the seal. Together, they set out into the cold desert night, sending up trails of sand behind them. 

The East Gerudo Ruins loomed almost ominously above their heads. The Seven Heroines, staring blankly toward the center of their circle. Riju and Ganondorf left Patrick and the random seal behind, continuing on foot. On the center of the statues was one of the shrines that Link apparently activated during his quest to defeat Calamity Ganon so many years ago. He’d been told that during that time, it had glowed blue, but now it was dark and lifeless.

Riju settled down on the Sheikah symbol on the shrine, setting down a cloth for her knees as as she knelt. 

“I used to pray in the very center,” She commented. She had told Ganondorf this before, but he didn’t point that out. He simply gave a hum to show he was listening. “But this shrine is here now. At least now I can kneel on a solid surface instead of the sand.”

“How long do you think you’ll be praying for?” Ganondorf asked. Riju shrugged.

“However long until the Heroines tell me what I need to know.” She patted her pouch. “And we have plenty of food until then. I don’t expect it to take too long.”

When Ganondorf had been a child, Buliara would take him for these entire-night-and-then-some prayers that Riju would do. When she was younger, apparently Riju used to look for guidance almost weekly, but as she got older and confident those occasions became farther between, and in a good way.

“Should I stand right next to you?” Ganondorf shifted his feet, looking around. He couldn’t remember where his mother usually stood during this.

“Wherever you feel comfortable.” Riju rolled her shoulders, clasped her hands together, and closed her eyes. Nothing changed, and yet the desert seemed quieter than before. 

Near the beginning, he stood close to the shrine, watching every movement, listening for any possible threat. It became obvious rather early on, though, that nothing seemed to be concerned about attacking the area. A hawk landed on top of one of the statues, staring down at Ganondorf, and he stared back until it flew off. 

Somehow, when he had agreed to come out here and watch Riju, he hadn’t considered just how boring it would be. 

Ganondorf climbed to the top of the shrine. Nowhere better to protect her, right? He dangled his legs and let them swing. One of the worst parts of getting taller: he couldn’t dangled his legs from as many places anymore. He looked up to the endless night sky, trying to pick out constellations. He could pick out the bright star that was the Fourth Heroine’s throat, where she had been pierced through the throat by an arrow. The legend had it she’d kept fighting afterwards, seemingly unperturbed by the injury, until the battle was won and she finally let death take her. 

The Ganondorf in The Twilight Legend survived death.

Ganondorf sighed, looked away from the stars. Everything reminded him of who he was - or might be or used to be or however the hell that was supposed to work. He looked down at Riju, still praying, having barely moved since she started. He wondered what she asked them, if they talked to her through just feelings, or if she could hear the voices of the Heroines in her head. He had a vague recollection of having attempted to pray when he was young. Had the Heroines really helped him?

What if the seal had been leading him farther from home? What if they had tried to kill him?

Ganondorf shook his head. No. It didn’t matter. He was alive now, no matter what had happened in the past. 

The desert remained still, peaceful, and Ganondorf drank it in. Out here, he was away from the stares, the whispers. He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about just running away, running out into the desert to never be seen again. He could even take one of the boars. There was one he’d been training in secret, in spare moments when he wasn’t busy with his own training. He had a bag of clothes and supplies always ready, in case he ever went through with it. He knew he never would, but he it actually comforted him, knowing it was an option there. 

He looked back down. Riju was still praying.

It was going to be a long night.

oOo

Riju opened her eyes, blinking rapidly. She got up, stretching out her stiff limbs. Personally, she didn’t enjoy praying too much. That was one thing she and Zelda bonded over. But it was her duty to keep her people from disaster. And sometimes that meant consulting the Seven and listening to what Patricia had to say. 

Listening to them also meant doing other things you didn’t want to do. Stop ignoring it and just pull the thorn. 

“Ganondorf?” Riju stood up, brushing sand off of her clothes. She looked around, frowning slightly, and then repeated herself a little bit louder, “Ganondorf?!”

“Riju!” She looked up to see Ganondorf standing on one of the Seven’s hands. He waved at her before running up the statue’s arm. A couple minutes later and he was racing across the sands. “ _ Lady _ , Riju. I’m sorry, I was just…”

“Getting a better vantage point? Seeing if it was going to rain?” Riju teased. Ganondorf looked away. 

“I… I wasn’t doing a very good job of guarding you. Buliara wouldn’t have been proud.” Ganondorf avoided his eyes, looking ashamed in himself. Riju ruffled his hair.

“You aren’t your mother, and I’m perfectly capable of protecting myself. Buliara has just always gone with me, and it’s safer to bring a guard.” Riju assured him. He didn’t seem quite convinced that he hadn’t made a serious error, but there was little Riju could do about that. 

“... did you get any answers?” He asked after a long moment. Riju sighed. 

Pull out the thorn.

“Yes. I did. Ganondorf… you are a male Gerudo.”

“... yes. I am.” Riju turned around and closed her eyes. She drew in a deep breath. She had to do this.

“When you turn eighteen, Gerudo law dictates that you are to be the next Chief. I will not fight you for it. Buliara named you your name for tradition, and it seems right that I should follow suit.” She listened for Ganondorf’s reply. Would it be shock? Surprise? Would the part of him that was Ganon be reveling in it? “Ganondorf?”

She turned around. 

Ganondorf was on one knee in the sand, head bowed. 

“Lady Riju, I have been raised to be the personal guard to you and your children. Not once have I thought about rising against you. If I have to, I will swear my loyalty to you right now, as many times as it takes, but I would hope that it was okay for it to go unsaid, that it was felt and understood.”

“... stand up, Ganondorf. I’m not going to ask a child to swear loyalty to me.” Ganondorf stood up, and Riju helped him. He opened his mouth, but closed it. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I am. Even if I did take the position, it would just cause friction between the Gerudo and the other races. As a leader, it would be best for me not to be a leader.” He said it kind of sadly, and Riju felt a pang in her chest. She knew a child forced to grow up too fast when she saw one. She had been one herself. Perhaps that was the true Gerudo tradition right there. 

“I guess you’re right.” Riju smiled and ruffled his hair again, and he actually gave her a weak glare, no heat behind it.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ganondorf leaves the desert

Ganondorf stood at the edge of the desert, where sand ended and mountain started. 

Today was his birthday, marking him eighteen years old.. As a child he’d looked forward to them, but the older he got the more he dreaded them. Each one meant he was older, and in the eyes of the other races he posed more and more of a threat.

He decided he deserved to give himself a gift this year. 

He deserved to find out for himself whether he deserved to die or not. Whether he was just an innocent person, or a monster hiding under a human skin. Whether or not he deserved the distrust that was expressed towards him, the wariness, the Hylian women who would spit at him for what Calamity Ganon had done to Hyrule, even if they hadn’t witnessed it themselves. 

Ganondorf made sure the hood of his outfit was well over his head, hiding as much of his face and hair as possible. Once he got a little ways from the Gerudo Desert, he should be safe, but this close there were bound to be some Hylian women around that recognized him. 

Another step and he would be out of the desert. It wouldn’t be hard, and yet he found himself struggling to move. The last time he had left this desert, his home, he had been fourteen and being tried for simply existing. He couldn’t just stand here forever. The letter telling his mother that he had left was already sitting on his bed, he had a bag of supplies with him, and he had even managed to steal some typical Hylian clothes from someone at the oasis. Ganondorf’s dark skin and red hair was something he couldn’t change, but hopefully people wouldn’t realize what the two in combination meant. 

Ganondorf breathed deeply, gripped his scimitar until his knuckles turned white, and stepped forward, into the shadows of the mountain path. 

“‘Lo there! Out rather late tonight, aren’t you?” 

Ganondorf froze. He had hoped to walk right past the Gerudo Canyon Stable without any confrontation, what with it being so late, but apparently there were still some people up. The voice was male, though. Males weren’t allowed in Gerudo Town. Odds were they wouldn’t recognize him. He debated just continuing past, but he didn’t want to cause a confrontation. And at some point he would have to get used to talking to people - especially men - he didn’t know. 

“Yes. I thought I could get into Gerudo Town, but it seems it was all for not. I thought I may as well start heading back to my home now.” Ganondorf grabbed the first excuse he could think of, turning to the voice and finding three men sitting around a fire. One of the men chuckled.

“Ah, we’ve all been there son.” He patted the spot next to him. “Sit down for a moment, why don’t you? Plenty of night to walk, why not spend a moment of it with a fire and some conversation?” Ganondorf swallowed, hand still gripping his scimitar. He could probably count the males he had held conversations with on one hand. Nevertheless, not wanting to seem suspicious, he drew towards the fire. He sat down hesitantly, but the others didn’t seem bothered in the slightest. 

“I’m Oliff, this is Palme, and he’s Maypin.” One of the men pointed around to each in turn and then looked at Ganondorf expectantly. Ganondorf tried to swallow the lump in his throat. Okay. He could do this. His journey was going to be filled with lies about his past, it was time to start. 

“I’m Groose.” The name was foreign on his tongue, the lie sitting bitterly in his stomach even though he knew calling himself Ganondorf was sure to make his life end rather quickly out here. 

“Like from the legend!” Palme chuckled.

“Yeah, like the legend.” Ganondorf nodded, avoiding their eyes. It was late at night, why were his palms so sweaty? Dammit, he was bad at this. 

“Which legend?” Maypin asked, looking confused.

“The Legend of The Sky, of course!” Oliff guffawed. “Are you telling me your parents never told you how everything all started?”

“Apparently not.” Maypin sighed. 

“I’ll tell it,” Palme butted in, “I know it like the back of my hand!”

Ganondorf sat there uncomfortably as Palme went over the legend. Floating islands, giant birds, monsters, a Demon King thing that supposedly reincarnated in tandem with the Hero and the Princess over and over again. It wasn’t a popular one in Gerudo Town, and Ganondorf remembered most of his childhood been regaled with the Legend of Time. More common than even that was tales of the Heroines feats and such. 

He turned to look back out at the desert, quiet and cold. He wasn’t sure how long he was going to be gone, but he missed it already. As Palme reached the part about the Hero seeing the Demon Lord in Death Mountain, Ganondorf pulled out the map from his pack, looking over the notes. He had a vague sense of where he was going, trying to hit as many spiritual places and towns as he could. He traced the path he’d marked, eyeing each place of note and going over what he knew about the place and the people that lived there. 

About midway through the story, Ganondorf politely excused himself from the campfire. The three men waved him goodbye, and the young Gerudo did his best not to sprint away. 

The canyon stretched on before him, the fraction of the moon lighting up the path for him. About halfway through he stopped at what looked like a long-abandoned campsite - which was being generous, as it wasn’t much more than a tarp held up by a stick. He pulled out some of the dried meat from his bag, chewing on it and looking up again. The moon had shifted to the far side of the sky, and without something to ride it would be even longer before Ganondorf made it out of the canyon. 

This was the path he’d taken out on his previous three trips to the greater part of Hyrule. Two of those times, he was able to ride on horse back while the other time he’d been young enough that his mom had simple let him ride on her shoulders. He looked up at the cliffs on either side of him, tall, imposing, and stirring up a bit of claustrophobia. The desert was so open, ever shifting sands, always a gust of wind laced with sand. 

And yet, Ganondorf already felt more free being in here than being in the desert. 

oOo

The canyon opened up. The terrain remained a vigilant rocky terrain up until it broke off, a sharp ledge down into a river. Ganondorf stared down at it as he crossed the set of bridges. It’d been a few years since he’d seen it - the deepest and fastest waters he’d ever seen. The previous three times, Buliara hadn’t let him play in it. Now, Ganondorf recognized what effort it would take going down there and getting back up. There would be plenty more places to sit in pools of water. Perhaps he could even try out swimming.

Ganondorf stooped down as he crossed the first bridge, carding his hands through the grass. The sun was starting to rise, a reminder of how long it had taken him to get through the canyon, and some dew from the blades clung to his hands. It was soft, like a blanket, and for a moment he considered stopping right here and sleeping instead of going the final distance to the Stable. But a comfy bed sounded even better than soft grass to sleep in, and hopefully the more time he spent around Hylians the more comfortable he would get, so with much reluctance he carried on. 

The map marked a warning about bokoblins here, but it would seem they had been cleared out since the warning and Ganondorf didn’t notice any trouble as he went. One woman standing on the side of the road stared at him with narrowed as he went, and the Gerudo just raised a hand and gave a shaky smile, pulling, the hood of his outfit farther down. Did male Hyrule usually wear earrings? Should he take his off? 

He pushed the fears and paranoia to the back of his head. He could worry about it later. Right now, he was just tired. 

The Outskirt Stable was, oddly enough, more familiar to Ganondorf than the Canyon Stable. The farther from the desert he had his mother had gotten, the less paranoid she was of somebody realizing who he was. Still, they always took the long way to Hyrule castle, not wanting to cross the villages scattered around the edges of Hyrule Field. She would, however, let him play in the around in the trees nearby while she traded some goods with the merchants. 

Today, there was the merchant with the stag beetle pack sitting under a tree while another one on horseback was exchanging this with a traveler. A stable hand was sweeping one of the entrances to the Stable while her kid played on top of the tree trucks next to it. The dog roaming outside greeted him happily, jumping up and wagging his tail like crazy. Ganondorf knelt down, scratching the dog with the widest grin on his face. 

“Hey, I’ll play with you later.” Ganondorf cooed and straightened up, though the dog followed him as he entered the Stable. A couple of travelers were sitting at a table, swapping stories or something, but they didn’t seem to pay him any mind, which was just fine by him.

“Welcome! Will you be staying with us this fine morning?” The Stable Head asked, leaning on the counter between them. 

“Yes. How much for a soft bed?” Ganondorf rifled through his back until he found his wallet.

“Forty rupees. Is there a time you’d like to be woken up?” 

“No, if that’s okay.” Ganondorf passed two red rupees across the counter and went over to the beds, putting his stuff off to the side and lying down. The sun was still coming up, but the Stable was in the shadow of a hill and if he wasn’t facing the doorway he could pretend it was nighttime. His sleep schedule was messed up anyway. 

He closed his eyes and imagined that the sound of the other travelers talking were Gerudo guards talking about the weird people they’d seen, the whinnying of horses was an odd bark from a sand seal. It wasn’t long until the tug of sleep pulled him and his tired limbs into a peaceful darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's right, the fic lives! I'm slowly but surely working on it :)  
> It's a bit of a fillery chapter as I just get the boi out of the desert, but hopefully things will be more interesting in the next chapter


	9. Chapter 9

A boom shook the Stable and Ganondorf jolted awake, hand immediately flying towards the scimitar by the bedside and grabbing it. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes, heart racing as he looked around the Stable. It was much more full than it had been last time, with the Stable Hand and his child both inside as well as twice as many travelers as he’d seen last time. The room was dark, lit only by lanterns. There was a consistent tapping-pounding sound coming from the roof, but nobody seemed concerned with it nor the sound that had woken him up.

Ganondorf turned his attention to the doorway and gasped. Sheets of water were pouring down. It rained in the desert, maybe once a year if they were lucky, but he’d never seen anything on this magnitude before.

Without hardly a second thought, Ganondorf jumped out of the bed and ran out into the rain, lifting his face and feeling the water pound down on him, the wind howling and whipping around the inner layer of the Hylian tunic that he’d worn to sleep. He felt refreshed and if the thunder hadn’t woken him up, the water on his face certainly had. 

“Hey, get inside before you catch a cold!” 

Ganondorf turned around to see the Stable Head calling to him. Reluctantly he went back inside, shaking his hair like a dog to get the water out of it and going back to the bed he’d slept in. The rain in Gerudo Desert was never this strong, and Ganondorf found himself grinning as he put on the rest of his clothes.

“A little wet there, aint ya?” One of the travelers remarked. Ganondorf looked up and gave a nervous chuckle. It’s okay, she probably didn’t know who he was.

“I’ve been traveling around the Desert, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen rain.” He replied as he put up his hood.

“I wish that was me.” The woman sighed, sitting down on the bed across from him. “Hyrule, for all it’s beauty, rains way too much.” Her comment was accented by another boom of thunder cracking through the air. There was the sound of a dog whining and Ganondorf could just see a snout peeking out from underneath the bed the woman was sitting on. “What are you doing, traveling around?”

“Checking out Hyrule’s historical monuments.” Ganondorf replied with a shrug, putting his socks and boots on. Then, as an afterthought, he added an, “And what about you?”

“Adventuring around. My parents did a lot of it when they were younger, wrote a whole notebook about their travels. I’m trying to carry on the tradition.” She held up a leather bound book. “I’m Mia, by the way.”

“Groose.” He put his hand out and she shook it. He got up and stretched, already knowing he was going to regret having a soaking undershirt under his layers, “I should get going, I have a long ways to go.”

“Good luck out there.” He waved her goodbye as he stepped back out into the rain. It hadn’t let up since the short foray out into it earlier, but the full ensemble of Hylian clothes did a great job of wicking the water off. He knew he should be continuing down the path, towards Hyrule castle, but as he set his feet on the dirt-turned-mud road, he looked over at the hills that made up the background of the Stable. With a grin, he set up. 

The grass was slick from the rain, water pouring down the hillside in buckets, but Ganondorf did not let that deter him, digging the boots into the mud and climbing higher. He’d always scoffed at the clothes Hylians wore into the desert, but now he was starting to understand why. The wind pushed forcefully at him, but Ganondorf couldn’t stop grinning. He was out here, away from his home, actually doing this. Traveling, adventuring, like he’d been planning for weeks, months even.

At the top of the hill was a tree that he stood under, the pouring rain changing into fat concentrated drops. He looked off towards the north, where he knew Hyrule castle was supposed to be, but was unable to see it through the rain. 

A flash layered with a sharp and booming crack nearly overwhelmed his senses and Ganondorf tensed. He could see a tree burning on a nearby hilltop. His heart hammered in his chest and he stared, awed, speechless, breathless, the forking lightning burned into his eyes. It had looked so… wild, so untamed in comparison to the type that came from a lizalfo, or a lightning arrow, or the electricity from Vah Naboris that Riju had once demonstrated for him - an event that had nearly shocked him with in the process. 

It was beautiful.

Of course, then he remembered what he’d been told about lightning and how it liked high places. He slid down the hill, testing out shield surfacing on a surface that wasn’t sand and finding it fairly similar. 

The walk to Hyrule Field was a long one. The rain let up eventually, but he kept his hood up just in case. He was still pretty close to the Desert. Maybe he should find a mask or something to hide his face? Or would that seem too suspicious and make people think he was part of the Yiga? His face screwed up and he stuck his tongue out at the very thought of being associated with them, the hatred a mix of teachings and firsthand experience.

A few people passed him, some on horseback and others on foot. They all looked at him as he passed, and standing next to them reminded him of just how short Hylians were. He was on the short side as far as Gerudo went, and though he was still growing he already stood more than two heads taller than most Hylians.

He stayed on the road, destination set in his mind. As he went he took out the map a couple of times, regoing over his route. First, Hyrule Castle. If this was his last chance to be free, he wanted to see the Royal family one last time. They had been kind to him when the rest of the races hadn’t. Then he’d go to the east and travel around Hyrule clockwise, ending his journey in Akkala. It wasn’t the most efficient route, but he let himself have it - a selfish second gift to himself - and nodded each time he looked at it, reaffirming in his mind that it was the path he’d chosen to take. 

The quiet of the road eventually became tinted with clamoring voices, reminding Ganondorf of market place in Gerudo Town during the day, when women (and gorons) would shop around for the exotic foods that were sold there. He wasn’t too surprised to see a similar sight in the ruins before him.

There had been no effort put into fixing up the ruins, tarps simply thrown over the fragments of walls and tables set up underneath them. Horses stood at the edge of town, grazing on the grass lazily while their owners shopped around. The ruins were marked on his map, but Ganondorf had expected them to be fixed up so many years after Calamity Ganon had struck.

He tugged his hood farther down and steeled himself, walking into the midst of it all. There was a great clamouring of people, holding a variety of ores and foods and creatures in their hands, pushing them onto tables and scooping other things off of them. Words were said quickly -  _ Two bananas No I’m not budging Four rubies Nine-hundred rupees for the lot and not a gem more Eggs for sale, fresh eggs _ \- all of the deals blending together into one great big clump that assaulted Ganondorf’s ears. 

It felt like being under attack, and Ganondorf felt himself automatically lowering slightly into a more defensible position, hand resting on his scimitar and tightening until he could feel the pattern clearly on his hand, eyes darting about to face after face after face of Hylians.

The world wanted him dead.

If these people knew who he wasn’t they wouldn’t hesitate to shove their swords into his stomach, to cut off his head, to spill his guts and hang his body up for all to see. 

-face after face after face-

They’d scream, run away afraid of him, they wouldn’t give him the chance to talk, to explain himself. They had knives and bows and spears that could easily pierce his flesh.

_ -after face after face after- _

The tell-tale pointed ears of Hylians, who hated him without even knowing him, who would love to tie him to column and mock him and spit in his face and stab him through the chest, cutting through him as if he were made of butter. 

**_-after face after face AFTER FACE-_ **

HYLIANS WHO HAD INVADED THE DESERT, WHO HAD TAKEN HIS P-

“Oof!” 

Something knocked into Ganondorf’s leg and it broke him out of his spiraling thoughts, giving him whiplash. He dropped to his knees, then fell forward onto his hands, gasping for air, trying to think again. The sounds were still assaulting him, but they seemed clearer - or were they more muffled? - and he didn’t get lost in them again. 

“Mr?” 

Ganondorf flinched as something tugged at his hood. He drew back sharply, staring at a small kid who looked at him with wide and curious eyes. 

“... hi.” Ganondorf choked out. 

“Are you okay?” The kid asked. “I’m sorry.” 

“Sorry?” Ganondorf repeated, trying to get the words to register in his still reeling brain. His thoughts from before were cut off, leaving him dangling and reaching for new threads to hold on to. 

“For walking into you.” The child elaborated, looking nervous. 

“It’s… okay.” He managed to say. He looked up, realizing he was making a scene, some of the trades and travelers staring at him, still on the ground, looking for the world like he expected the kid to start attacking him. He picked himself up and hurried out of the Trading Ruins, away from the crowd of people. More strangers than he’d ever been surrounded by all at once. The thunderwing butterflies were still in his bag. He’d been planning to trade them for something - maybe rupees, maybe food, maybe weapons - but he couldn’t bring himself to go back in there. Not after the display he’d made, and not after whatever it was that had come over him. 

Surely there would be another, less densely crowded place that he could trade them. 

He sat under the trees outside of the Trading Ruins as he collected himself, taking deep breaths, calming down his still agitated nerves. He tried to pinpoint what had made him freak out. He’d never liked going out in the shopping part of Gerudo Town before, but he’d always chalked that anxiety up to being nervous about being figured out, and then to being nervous because he knew the women were trying to spot him. Well, he was already learning things about himself. 1. He liked the rain and storms. 2. He didn’t like crowds of people. 

Ganondorf forced himself up again. He could still make it to Hyrule castle before they day was over, but not if he continued to sit here. 

He stepped out of the trees, away from the market, and towards the castle. He could see it, now that there was nothing blocking his view. It was tall and magnificent, just as he remembered it. All of his memories of the place were an odd mix of good and bad, of playing around in the halls and of being judged his worth. 

The grasses of Hyrule field moved in waves as a breeze ran across it like wild animal. The wind pushed back Ganondorf’s hood, kissing his cheeks and running through his hair like the hands of one of the Heroines was being carded through it. 

It smelled like wood and rain, like things he couldn’t even begin to describe or explain. It swelled in his chest, overtaking all the terrible remnants of the Trading Ruins.

And he knew everything he’d ever done was worth getting to feel this wind.


End file.
